To function efficiently, manufacturing and service facilities depend on getting the right component part to the right worker at the right time. Modern facilities are typically divided into different work areas (e.g., receiving, welding, assembly, shipping, etc.), and parts are brought to specialized workers in those areas to perform a job function. Many inefficiencies result from the logistics involved with moving parts around a facility floor. If the correct part is not in the appropriate work area at the right time, a worker wastes time tracking the part down in the facility.
Today's manufacturing and service facilities use paperwork to detail job tasks needing to be performed to build or service a particular part. Using paperwork to track part manufacturing and service job tasks is cumbersome, inaccurate, and often requires more time finding and keeping the paperwork up to date than manufacturing or servicing the part. A worker typically has to locate the appropriate paperwork, update it correctly when a specific job task is performed, and then ensure it stays with the part as the part travels to the next work area. Such a process is only as good as the workers who maintain the accuracy of the paperwork, and even the best workers typically cannot ensure the appropriate paperwork always follows all parts in the facility. Countless man hours are wasted tracking such paperwork and keeping it up to date. And the typical reaction of management to improve the efficiency of the process is to add additional paperwork or perform additional administrative tasks, most of which further complicate and delay things.
The paperwork includes manufacturing drawings for the various stages of production. The manufacturing drawings are printed in large format and include tolerances for the part. Oftentimes the manufacturing drawings are updated by the engineering team while the part is currently out on the shop floor. The updated manufacturing drawings then need to be placed with the part on the shop floor so the part can be manufactured according to the updated drawing parameters. If the part has already been machined beyond the updated tolerances, then the part may need to be scrapped resulting in a complete loss of the part and machining costs. Moreover, if the updated drawings do not end up being placed with the proper part, the part is not machined properly, which could result in failure or even catastrophic failure during operation as many of the parts manufactured are in hazardous operational conditions (high pressure, flooding, nuclear environments).
Even worse, worker productivity is drastically reduced when workers must search for parts that are not in the correct work areas or must hunt down corresponding paperwork detailing tasks that need to be completed on the part. For example, welders hunting for paperwork or parts in a manufacturing facility spend less time actually welding. The end goal of any manufacturing or service facility is to maximize the amount of time specialized workers spend performing their specialized job tasks. Miring workers down with administrative paper tasks or part-hunting expeditions reduces the time spent actually manufacturing and servicing parts.